


Five Years

by cazmalfoy



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, First Meetings, Harley is Tony's son, M/M, Minor Character Death, Peter Parker is Tony's son, Sad Ending, Sickness, Snapshots, canon character death, death of parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 20:05:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16562315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: “Why’d you only have one arm?”“Cut it off to see what would happen."Five-year old Tony Stark didn't realise it, but he'd fallen in love with James Barnes in that moment.*Five year snapshots of Tony and James's lives, in 200 word snippets.





	Five Years

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning, I made myself _cry_ writing the last two segments of this story.
> 
> Please heed the tags and proceed with caution.

5.

“Why’d you only have one arm?”

Across the fence, the one-armed boy stopped throwing the baseball he was holding in the air.

“Cut it off to see what would happen,” he retorted, tossing the ball back in the air again.

Horror crossed his face; surely the other wasn’t being serious. At least he hoped he wasn’t.

“Tony?” He turned in the direction of the voice to see Ana Jarvis standing on the porch of her house. “What are you doing?” she asked, coming down the steps to stand next to Tony.

The five year old beamed up at his nanny. “He only has one arm, Ana,” he gushed, pointing over at the other boy with a grin on his face.

Ana’s eyes widened in surprise. “Tony! You can’t say things like that!” he chided.

Tony frowned deeply. “Why?” he questioned. “He does only have one arm; said he cut if off and everything.”

She laughed and ran her hand over Tony’s head. “James, what did your mother tell you about telling lies?” The question was directed at the boy on the other side of the fence.

James scoffed and rolled his eyes. “He shouldn’t ask such stupid questions, then.”

*

10.

“What are you drawing?”

Tony blushed and flipped his notebook closed to keep James from looking at it. “Nothing,” he muttered.

Unfortunately, James was nosey and denying him something always made him want it more.

Without a word, he reached out and grabbed the notebook from Tony, snatching it from his friend’s hands.

“Hey! Give that back!” Tony cried, jumping up and running after James.

James just laughed and continued running until he reached the kitchen. Tony was only a couple of steps behind him and he paused in the doorway.

“Please, James,” he begged, his brown eyes wide and fearful. “Don’t.”

Not seeing what the big deal was, James ignored him and flicked the notebook open. It was something Tony never went anywhere without, and James knew it was filled with designs for inventions the other boy had dreamed up.

His breath caught his throat when he flicked to the back and saw the final design that Tony had been working on. 

“Tony, is this…” James blinked rapidly to clear his blurring vision. “Are you designing an _arm_?”

Tony blushed and glanced away. “Just something I’ve been messing with,” he muttered. “No need to make it a big deal.”

*

15.

Tony felt like he was going to be sick.

“I can’t do this,” he grumbled, resting his elbows on the table and pressing his face against his hands. “This is the worst idea anyone has ever had.”

Across from him, James rolled his eyes and pulled Tony’s hands away. “Stop being a drama queen,” his best friend instructed. “You’re graduating High School, not being executed.”

Tony whined and threw a pitiful look at James. “I’m fifteen and going to college, James! I’m going to be the freak!”

“Hate to tell you this, but you’ve always been the freak,” James laughed, making Tony’s jaw drop open in surprise. “But that’s part of what makes you special.”

Brown eyes narrowed into a glare. “Me?” he exclaimed. “You’re the freak who said you’d cut off your arm to see what would happen!”

James chuckled and leant back in his chair, running his fingers over the extremely rudimentary prosthetic he had been provided with by the hospital. 

“I only said that to get rid of this _really_ annoying kid my neighbour was babysitting,” he stated, pulling his arms back when Tony smacked him with a laugh and pout.

His nerves were completely forgotten about.

*

20.

It should be raining. It aways rained on TV when there was a funeral.

The sun beating down on the back of their necks felt like it was mocking their sorrow and pain, and Tony hated the celestial body for not sharing in his grief.

All throughout the morning, people had been coming up to him and offering their condolences. Like they could understand what he was going through.

It was all for show, Tony knew that. There was no way they could understand; their lives hadn’t been ripped apart because of some stupid ice on the road and a reckless driver.

Beside him, Tony could feel James lean against his shoulder. Over the last week, James had never once uttered his condolences toTony. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, Tony knew that; he actually cared more than most.

He had just shown his sympathy in ways that were actually helpful.

Between James and Edwin, Tony hadn’t been left alone for more than a few hours. There was no way they were going to let him drown his sorrows in a bottle like he had when Ana passed away.

Wordlessly, James reached out and laced their fingers together, squeezing softly.

*

25.

James couldn’t handle his alcohol. He never had been able to.

It only took two bottles of beer for James to start convincing Tony to sing ‘I’d Do Anything For Love’ on karaoke, and Tony was incapable of saying no.

Since James had discovered drinking, Tony had lost count of how many times he’d had to drag James’s drunken ass back to his apartment.

When Tony’s neighbour had invited him to a house party, he’d quickly invited James as well - politeness be damned.

Tony raised an eyebrow when James staggered in his direction, trying to not spill beer over the prosthetic Tony had created as his final project in college.

“This is really. _really_ good beer,” James informed Tony, falling down onto the seat beside the genius.

Tony laughed and took the red cup from his friend, smelling the liquid inside. “That’s because it’s vodka,” he stated, handing the cup back to James.

A grin spread across James’s face. “See, this is why I love you. You’re so clever!”

“You don’t love me,” Tony argued with a laugh.

James huffed and narrowed his eyes at Tony. “Yes, I do; always loved you. You’re the only one for me,” he slurred. 

*

30.

The date had been a disaster, they could both admit that.

“This wasn’t supposed to go like this,” James complained.

James had made plans at the fanciest restaurant in the city, using Tony’s name to make sure they were even taken seriously. He’d had everything planned out down to the second.

Then the restaurant had lost the reservation and the pair of them had been turned away at the door. Everything James had been planning for months had been ruined in those few moments.

“I’ve already said, it’s not big a deal,” Tony repeated, having to jog to keep up with James. “We’ll just grab some burgers, and…”

He trailed off when James came to a stop and turned to face him, looking far more devastated than he should for the situation. 

“This isn’t how I wanted to do this.” 

Tony’s mouth fell open in surprise when James dropped down to one knee.

“Tony Stark, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember,” James began, reaching into his pocket. “I wanted this to be perfect and romantic, but I can’t wait any more.”

“Will you marry me?”

Tony couldn’t speak; all he could do was nod and cry.

*

35.

Lazy Sundays were one of Tony’s favourite things in the entire world.

It was the one day of the week when neither of them needed to be anywhere in particular. They could wake up whenever they wanted and could do whatever they wanted, even if that was nothing at all.

A small smile on his face, Tony rolled over. Beside him in the bed, James was still fast asleep, a peaceful look on his face.

Tony spent a moment admiring his husband; he never tired of how good looking the other man was, and he was pretty sure he never would.

“It’s creepy to stare,” James muttered, never opening his eyes.

Tony laughed, sliding closer to James and pressing against his side. “I’m not staring,” he argued. “Just thinking about what a lucky bastard I am.”

James finally opened his eyes and smiled up at Tony. “You’re a sap when you’re sleepy,” he stated, wrapping an arm around the other man’s waist and pulling him closer.

Their lips met in a soft kiss, before Tony broke away and grinned down at James. “I’ve been thinking about last night and you were right.”

“I’d love to start a family with you.”

*

40.

“Is he here yet?”

Tony groaned and pressed a hand against his eyes. “Not yet,” he replied with the tone of someone who had already repeated himself multiple times. 

Three year old Harley huffed in irritation and stormed away, heading for his bedroom.

“Remind me again why we thought it was a good idea to have another one of those?” Tony grumbled, turning his gaze to where his husband was chopping vegetables at the kitchen island.

James laughed. “He’s just excited,” he pointed out.

The other man scowled. “That’s not excitement,” Tony corrected, leaning over to steal a piece of carrot from the board. “Kid’s just being annoying because he can.”

A fond look crossed James’s face. “I wonder where he gets that ability from,” he quipped, making Tony stick his tongue out in response. “Trust me, you were just as annoying when you were a kid.”

“Rude,” Tony scoffed. “I think you’re getting confused; I was a perfect child.”

James snorted and rolled his eyes. “That’s not the way I remember it. I…”

His words were cut off when his phone starting ringing from where it was lying innocently on the counter.

“That’s Mary,” James whispered. “Peter’s finally here.”

*

45.

The kids knew something was wrong with their father. Even five-year old Peter has picked up on it.

Harley was the one who broke first.

“Dad?” he asked from where he was curled against Tony’s side. “Is Papa okay?”

Mentally, Tony winced and couldn’t help cursing his son’s intelligence. He had _told_ James they deserved to know what was wrong, but his husband had been adamant they were too young to understand.

Well, Tony had been right and James was going to pay when he was back to being his usual self.

Pausing the movie they had been watching, Tony let out a small sigh and turned to face Harley. 

“You remember when we went to see Grandma in the hospital?” Harley nodded his head. “Well, that’s ‘cos she’s been sick.”

Sadness crossed Harley’s face. “Is she going to get better?” he asked and Tony’s heart broke at how scared he sounded.

The older man slowly shook his head. “That’s why your papa’s being distant. He’s upset and scared.”

A lone tear rolled down Harley’s cheek. “But we can make him happy again, right?”

“Of course we can; we just need to remind him how much we love him.”

*

50.

“This is bullshit,” James hissed under his breath.

Tony rolled his eyes. James had been complaining about attending the event for _days_ and it was growing old.

“If you didn’t wanna be here, why did you RSVP?” Tony snapped.

James’s blue eyes narrowed. “I didn’t!” he hissed angrily. “You’re the one who replied!”

“Because you wouldn’t make a decision either way,” Tony pointed out. “I was _trying_ to save our marriage.”

The other man drew to a stop at Tony’s words. “What?” he spluttered.

Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’m not being serious, you idiot. But seriously, you were driving us _all_ insane. I don’t see why it’s that big a deal.”

James didn’t reply for a moment as he tried to tell if Tony was telling the truth. “Easy for you to say; you didn’t go to your High School reunion.”

“Everyone I graduated with was three years older than me,” Tony reminded him. “Look, how about we go in, show our faces and then see how many times I can blow you under the table without people getting suspicious.”

A dark look appeared in James’s eyes and he started tugging insistently on Tony’s hand.

“Come on, then!”

*

55.

“Papa, where do you want this last box?”

James blinked and pulled his attention away from the certificates he’d been staring at. Peter stood in the doorway, looking at him expectantly as he waited a response.

Not that he could give him it since he hadn’t heard the words.

“Sorry; world of my own,” James said, running his flesh hand over his face. “What did you say?”

His fifteen-year old son frowned but didn’t repeat himself. Instead, he stepped further into the room, placing the box on the floor alongside several others.

“Are you okay?” Peter asked, worry shining in his dark brown eyes.

Instinct told James to lie - to not worry the teenager - but instead he paused, contemplating his question. “It’s a big change,” he eventually responded, placing the certificate back in the box he’d taken it from. “It’ll take some getting used to.”

Peter hummed in understanding and leant against the edge of the desk. “At least Dad’s retired as well,” he whispered.

James grinned. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing. We’re probably going to get on each others nerves even more than normal now.”

“I don’t think that’s even possible,” Peter quipped with a grin.

*

60.

“You are the most perfect person I’ve ever met.”

Harley and James shared amused looks from where they were standing on either side of Tony. 

“As one of your two children, I find that very offensive,” Harley commented with a smirk.

Tony stuck his tongue out, but never diverted his attention from the pink bundle in his hands. “If you’d been the girl I wanted, maybe you wouldn’t be so sensitive,” he retorted.

He was lying, of course; Tony had always wanted a son, and had been over the moon when he’d been blessed with two. 

But, that had been more than twenty years ago; he had changed, and his heart had been longing for a little girl he could spoil.

The fact that said little girl was actually a granddaughter made it even more perfect.

“Dad, you’re gonna have to let her go eventually,” Peter commented, sharing an amused look with his older brother.

An offended look appeared on Tony’s face and he clutched his granddaughter a fraction tighter. “Never!” he gasped, making the other’s roll their eyes.

Harley ran his hand over his daughter’s head. “Best get used to it, kid. He’s a coddler, but we love him.”

*

65.

The house was filled to the brim and noisier than it had been for a long time.

Part of Tony missed the peace and quiet of their day to day life, but as their grandson went tearing past, pursued by his older sister, he knew that he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Maria, leave him alone!” Harley’s voice echoed through the house, rising over the din of the rest of the family.

Tony smiled to himself but made no effort to stop Maria from attacking George. Instead, he headed into the lounge where the rest of his family were sitting, relaxing after a long week leading up to the holidays.

James, who was sitting on the love seat, looked up as Tony drew closer and offered his husband a brilliant grin, which Tony easily returned as he sat down beside him.

The second Tony was within reach, James wrapped an arm around the other man, pulling him against his side.

“Love you,” James whispered, nuzzling his beard against Tony’s neck with a grin.

Tony laughed and wriggled around in his husband’s arms, trying to get away from the scratching sensation.

“I love you too,” he replied, giving James a soft kiss.

*

70.

They were alone.

The doctor had given them some time alone. As though that would help them process what they had just been told, what was happening.

“They’re wrong,” Tony said, breaking the silence with a voice that was far shakier than he was happy about.

In the uncomfortable plastic chair, James was far too calm and still. “You know they’re not.”

Tony’s hands were shaking in his lap, and he clenched his fists furiously. “We’re going to get a second opinion,” he decided. “The best money can buy.”

James sighed and placed a hand over Tony’s. “Doll, this doctor _is_ the best money can buy. This is happening; we can’t bury our heads in the sand anymore.”

Tears began to fall from Tony’s cheeks, and he shook his head. “It can’t be,” he whispered, swiping his hand across his cheek. “You can’t… I don’t know how live without you.”

Their eyes met and Tony felt his heart break at the look of resignation he could see in his husband’s eyes. James knew it was worse than they were telling him, even if Tony didn’t want to admit it.

“I know you don’t, but the kids'll help you through this.”

*

75.

It was all finalised. Everything had now been shared out evenly between Harley, Peter and their children.

As if their parents have never even existed. Only their memories, and personal possessions were left behind to indicate that they had even been there.

Peter moved through the house, feeling as though he was running on autopilot. He was exhausted - couldn’t remember the last time he had slept for longer than a couple of hours. 

Everything was still immaculate, the cleaners Tony had employed had been retained to keep the house clean for the new owners. It felt wrong; as though he was going to turn the corner and come face to face with his father.

“It’s weird isn’t it?” Harley’s voice asked, startling Peter back into the present moment.

Peter didn’t - couldn’t - answer, but stopped to allow his brother to draw level with him. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do without him,” he whispered. There were no tears; Peter didn’t think he had any tears left.

Harley placed a hand on his shoulder. “Me neither,” he replied. “I think we’re just supposed to focus on living our lives and carrying on his memory.”

“At least he’s with Papa again.”

*


End file.
